Whether you’re a serious swimmer who wants to be as streamlined as possible in the water, or a casual paddler who’s more concerned with protecting their hair from the splashes of other people in the pool, wearing a swimming cap is generally a good idea. While no cap will keep your hair completely dry, they can limit how much water reaches it, minimising chlorine damage and meaning regular swimmers have at least some chance of not always smelling like a human pool. Caps also reduce the drag caused by wearing your hair loose or tied back, so you can swim faster more easily, but they also keep your hair off of your face and out of your eyes. What you’ll want from a really good swimming cap is fairly straightforward: no snagging or pulling of your hair when putting it on and taking off, no slippage or filling with air in the water, general comfort and, last but not least, no forehead line when the cap is removed. It also wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if it looked OK, though we all have to accept that there’s only a certain level of OK you can look in a swimming cap. Everyone will want something slightly different from their swimming headwear, so we’ve considered options for the fast and furious front crawlers as well as the head-above-waterers. The vast majority of hats are made of silicone but you can also find latex, rubber, lycra and spandex – silicone is the most popular option, as it is affordable, durable, not prone to ripping and suitable for people with latex allergies. We tested all hats in indoor pools on dry hair.
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